The RV drove slowly along the Palm Tree Coastal Avenue. The lights outside were bright and the small bay was like a blue mirror in the dark night. It is also one of the most famous wonders of the empire, like a fairy tale world. Many young men and women in love traveled together, snuggling and hugging each other under the lampposts beside the beach. There were also many men and women dancing on the music square.
Lu Ming originally wanted to suggest going downstairs to dance, but he saw that Christine seemed a little tired. She sat on the sofa with her knees hugged, and it was unknown what she was thinking.
Lu Ming stood up and sat down next to her.
Christine looked at him with a little surprise, and Lu Ming smiled: "Thinking about those troubles again? Can I lend you my shoulder to lean on?"
Christine shook her head: "Thank you! Today, I seem to have really returned to the seventeen years old I dreamed of." She hugged her knees, "Even when I was seventeen, if my father saw me sitting like this, he would be very disappointed. If he saw me now and knew what I did today, I'm afraid he would send me to a mental hospital!"
Lu Ming smiled and said, "Next time, let's go play billiards or go to a disco. If Archduke Charles finds out, he will probably chop off my head!"
“Next time?…” Christine shook her head gently, “Forget it. If abnormal things become frequent, it will be impossible to hide it from others.”
Lu Ming wanted to say something, but after thinking it over, he held back. Indeed, if Christine dressed up as a 17-year-old girl and fooled around outside, if that were to be leaked, her position as crown prince, which was as stable as a rock, would be in jeopardy.
Just as Christine said, even her father, Archduke Charles, would probably think that his daughter had mental problems.
He sighed softly, "After that, I may never see adults in their current image again..." Looking at Christine's beautiful golden twin ponytails, he shook his head helplessly, "It will be a swan song!" As if possessed by a ghost, he reached out and held the ponytails, "It's really cute!"
Christine was stunned, her blue eyes immediately revealed annoyance as she stared at Lu Ming.
Lu Ming suddenly woke up, retracted his hand in dismay, and coughed: "I, I didn't mean it..."
Christine said coldly: "Have your hands turned into wooden figures again and won't listen to your commands!"
She was also stunned after she finished speaking. She probably blurted it out without thinking and only realized that something was wrong after she finished speaking.
Lu Ming was also stunned.
In fact, neither of them ever mentioned this embarrassing incident again, as if it had never happened.
But obviously, this matter actually caused a lot of trouble to Christine. After all, she had always been pure and chaste. Twenty years had passed since her divorce, and she had never been touched by any man, and no man dared to have any idea of profaning her.
One can imagine the impact this incident had on her.
The carriage was completely silent.
After a long while, Lu Ming secretly glanced at Christine's face and whispered, "I was thinking, if I were Archduke Charles, when he was seventeen, I would definitely want my beautiful and lovely daughter to be happy, instead of using all kinds of rules and dogmas to erase her personality." Shaking his head, "Of course, I am a grassroots person, my ideas are naive and ridiculous..."
"Send me back..." Christine said calmly.
"Oh, oh..." Lu Ming agreed in a panic, picked up the hanging phone next to him that was connected directly to the driver's cab, and said, "Go to Tulip Manor." He then said, "Yuluan, come and help Her Highness Christine change her clothes."
Christine got up and went to the dressing room.
…
The Tulip Manor is located in the suburbs of the West District. This land is extremely valuable and probably covers tens of thousands of acres. Even a tributary of a river belongs to the Tulip Manor.
After all, before the era of great reclamation several hundred years ago, the entire East China Sea belonged to the Duke family of East China Sea.
The manor has deep courtyards, forests and lakes coexisting, and countless ancient castles hidden among them.
The magnificent reception room.
Christine regained her graceful and beautiful character as a noble lady, wearing a gorgeous and exaggerated puffy skirt that blended snow-white and light purple. The high-waisted purple tulle was layered, overlapping to create a light and dreamy feeling. The several layers of tulle skirt were clearly layered, making Christine look as noble and elegant as a white swan.
Thinking about how he had grabbed her ponytail more than an hour ago, Lu Ming felt as if he was dreaming.
Not knowing what the man wanted to talk to him about, Lu Ming felt a little nervous.
The reception room was large, spacious, and grand, but there were only Lu Ming and Christine.
"In fact, I just reflected on myself. What kind of relationship do we have?" Christine sipped her tea slowly. "For example, if you flirt with me, I will still... use your words to make plans for dinner and play. Even today, it was so absurd that I wanted to turn into a little girl myself..."
"If this is a mistake, then I should bear the greatest responsibility."
Lu Ming wanted to speak, but Christine smiled at him and said, "Just listen to me."
"It would be hypocritical for us to deceive ourselves and say that our relationship is not a date."
"Of course, I hope our relationship is more than just friendship. I'll think about it carefully."
"Maybe, you become my lover, maybe, we should end it here."
"I should have the answer when we meet next time."
"Anyway, I need some time."
Lu Ming was stunned. Christine was just Christine. He and her had such a delicate relationship, but she handled it like a judge handling a case without any emotion. The word "lover" just came out of her mouth so easily.
She seemed to have thought it through clearly. If the relationship between him and her continued to develop like this, they would most likely become lovers. If she didn't want it to develop to that point, it would be better to end it now. Otherwise, it would become a dangerous game.
Indeed, if I say that there is not a little bit of ambiguity in the relationship between me and her deep in their hearts, I would be deceiving myself. However, this relationship is very beautiful and hazy, but the judge is the judge after all, and he will never be ambiguous. Everything must be made clear and he must break this layer of window paper.
In fact, she wanted to end it.
As for myself, I actually don't know what I'm thinking. Being with her, I have the happiness of being truly equal friends, and also the sense of well-being of being disciplined by my mother. I haven't thought about what the future will be like, I just let things take their course.
But now, it seems that I can no longer pretend to be stupid.
Maybe Christine is right. If you don't want to go to that final step, it's better to end it as soon as possible.
Lu Ming raised his hand, "I request to speak."
Christine looked at him helplessly and said, "This is not a courtroom, and I don't have a gavel."
"Yes, this is not a court. The relationship between two people, whether they are friends or lovers, should not be decided by you alone, Your Excellency the Judge!"
Lu Ming continued, "I feel that my relationship with you is a kind of kinship. Sometimes, I feel that you are very much like my mother. Sometimes, I want to be close to you, but I dare not. I understand what you are saying, Your Honor. Your Honor believes that our relationship should either really go a step further or stop. Moreover, I can imagine that Your Honor is ready to rule that this relationship is over."
Christine picked up the tea and sipped it slowly.
"In fact, in your current situation, having a lover, or several lovers, is a very normal thing from the perspective of royal tradition and the upper class... Yin Shabel, I have no objection to me being your lover..."
"Ridiculous." Christine frowned.
"Okay, let's not talk about tradition. Let's talk about the military and political affairs that your Honor is most concerned about."
Lu Ming paused, "The relationship between men and women is very delicate. For example, if the two of us really broke up and ignored each other in the future, there is no guarantee that we would not become enemies..."
"Are you threatening me that you will use your bombers to bomb the East China Sea?" Christine's voice was a little cold.
"Look, I've told you a secret like this, and now you say you want to be strangers to me and never have anything to do with me again... It's easy for you to crush me to death with a flick of your finger, but I think you're not such a heartless person. But if you give me a few more years, and I slowly become bigger, and think of your ruthlessness towards me today, I don't know what I'll think then."
Christine had a stern face at first, but suddenly she couldn't help but burst out laughing, feeling both angry and amused: "What on earth are you talking about? Are you threatening me with your future military power? Do you want me to be your lover?"
Lu Ming rubbed his nose. "You were the first to bring up the idea of being lovers or not. I didn't dare to think that way at first, but I don't want you and I to be strangers in the future, because you are one of the people I regard as my family." He added, "In short, from a military and national perspective, from a political perspective, you should also control me, a chess piece that is getting bigger and bigger. This should be of great benefit to the East China Sea, your family, and the future of the empire that you care about so much."
After a pause, he continued, "From a personal perspective, I am completely defenseless against you and tell you all my secrets. In this world, apart from my real family, there is no one else I can trust so much. If the judge rules that there will be no relationship between us from now on, I will feel deeply frustrated and betrayed..."
“Alright!” Christine put down her teacup. “You’re the best at making excuses. It turns out that even after becoming a warlord, you haven’t changed at all!”
He added, "But as you said, this is not a court. No matter how many twisted theories you say, what does it matter? Listening to your cold analysis, my heart has turned cold!"
Lu Ming smiled: "But for the sake of the country, you will still choose to sacrifice yourself."
Christine didn't say anything. After a while, she glanced at Lu Ming and sighed softly, "Actually, you just want me to be a bad woman and give me a lofty goal to numb myself!"
Lu Ming smiled and said, "Not necessarily. As your closest ally, I can indeed help you a lot."
Christine shook her head gently: "I know you, you're talking a lot of nonsense, but even if I drive you away today, if there really is a day when I need your help, you won't refuse."
Lu Ming was silent for a while. "In fact, you have always been helping me, including in the next few years. I also need your help."
After that, no one spoke for a long while.
Christine suddenly smiled and said, "You can go now. If we continue, it will become the awkward conversation you always talk about."
Lu Ming said helplessly: "Is this how Your Highness entertains guests? How can you chase guests away? Besides, some things are best when they are vague. If you insist on holding a trial and the testimony must be clear, it will naturally be awkward." He glanced at Christine and said, "In fact, it is very simple to resolve it. For example, if we kiss now, there will be no embarrassment..." Seeing that Christine's face immediately turned cold, he quickly stopped talking.
After a while, she whispered, "It's too difficult to be your lover. I have to think about it seriously!"
"Go on!" Christine snorted, stood up and said, "I won't see you off. You're not a guest anyway."